Universiteit van Amsterdam Graduate School for Humanities Music, Image, and Identity: Rebetiko and Greek National Identity Alexia Kallergi Panopoulou Student number: 11655631 MA Thesis in European Studies, Identity and Integration track Name of supervisor: Dr. Krisztina Lajosi-Moore Name of second reader: Prof. dr. Joep Leerssen September 2018 2 Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Theory and Methodology ........................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2. ........................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 The history of Rebetiko ......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 Kleftiko songs: Klephts and Armatoloi ............................................................................... 11 2.1.2 The Period of the Klephts Song .......................................................................................... 15 2.2 Rebetiko Songs...................................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Rebetiko periods ................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 29 3.1 Musical instruments and Identity ......................................................................................... 29 3.2 Rebetiko and Gender ............................................................................................................ 35 3.3 The audience ......................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 41 4.1 The politics ............................................................................................................................ 41 4.2 Rebetiko in America .............................................................................................................. 45 4.3 The contribution of Manos HadJidakis .................................................................................. 48 4.4 The contribution of Mikis Theodorakis ................................................................................. 52 4.5 Zorba the Greek .................................................................................................................... 54 4.6 The Rebetiko Movie .............................................................................................................. 56 4.7 Rebetiko in UNESCO .............................................................................................................. 58 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 62 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................... 64 3 Introduction Rebetiko is a musical genre well known to the Greek public. The same may apply to a large part of the population in the Western world, either through Greek immigrants or the movie Zorba the Greek. This musical genre that has been active in the musical reality from the beginning of the newly established Greek state to the present day is part of the official Greek music and national identity. However, since 2017 it is part of the cultural heritage of UNESCO. How is a musical genre that is not part of the official Greek national identity to be on the cultural heritage map? What is Rebetiko, how does it evolve and is represented at a political level and on what factors? These are some of the critical questions that have led to this research. Initially, some basic concepts, such as the national identity, are highlighted to elicit the axes studied at both international and local scale. What is the relationship between Greece and Western identity? Are there any problematic concepts that might consist the Greek national identity? Afterward, reference is made to Rebetiko as a musical genre. The historical evolution and connection of the genre with Klepht's music, a revolutionary musical genre that begins with the Greek Revolution and the founding of the Greek state, is mentioned. Additionally, the evolution of the musical genre and its correlation with Rebetiko music is outlined. Lastly, the revolutionary identity and the association of the genre with the Greek identity and the West are mentioned. Moreover, it is related to the social character of the Rebetiko era, and its evolution is studied socially in the long run. How static is this piece of music? Are there elements to which are being expressed through Greek society and everyday life? The documentation of these elements is portrayed through the historical evolution of the use of musical instruments, the correlation and the interaction with the audience and the racial differences of representation of the genre. This is followed by the political association of the genre and the documentation of the dispute over the integration of the genre into the formal or informal music and national identity of Greece. It refers to the evolution of the genre and its expression outside the national borders either by the Greek immigrants or by scholars that have contributed to the 4 formation of the national identity. Significant reference is also the rebirth of Rebetiko in other art forms, thus notifying the existence of the genre, without identifying Rebetiko's inclusion or not in official national identity. Finally, there is conclusion, which summarizes the arguments and the historical developments concerning the political and social factor. The possibility of integrating Rebetiko into the official national identity following the inclusion of the genre in UNESCO is identified, while the limitations of this procedure are stated. 5 Chapter 1 1.1 Theory and Methodology This paper aims to study the Greek cultural identity through the Rebetiko music scene. The image of bourgeois culture, and in particular the working class, as expressed through Rebetiko, a musical genre that has been expressed since the middle of the 19th century in Greece until today, is to be studied. Which images of Greek identity find expression in Klepht songs and Rebetiko genre? In what ways do musical practices question and complement the official political narratives of Greek nationhood? The thesis aims to explore the tension between 1) a top-down construction of Greek national identity and 2) a bottom-up socially dynamic musical practice. A closer cultural and historical examination of Rebetiko reveals a different image of Greek nationhood, one that is suffused with class consciousness and mediated through the artistic expression of a politically oppressed ethnic and national cultural practice. A study of music, and Rebetiko in particular, helps to unveil the inherent contradictions and controversies of Greek cultural nationalism. The music performance of Rebetiko constitutes a unique field of investigation of the evolution of revolutionary tendencies from the beginning of the newly established Greek state in 1821 until today. Since Rebetiko is associated with revolutionary social groups and is still active as a genre in the same social groups, how does it apply over time? How can we identify the national identity promoted by the authorities of the Greek state through a musical genre that is opposed to official practices and political principles? Is this possible to see that through images that are related to the corresponding political periods? This research also aims to investigate if there is a historic revolutionary continuity of the genre and the corresponding political, identities and national practices through the images, as they have been presented in the media, research publications, articles, as well as in websites. Through the historical and political correlation of the pictures, the overall image of the revolutionary, cultural and national identity in the Rebetiko song is identified. Music is a way of expressing all social classes and structures in all the Western world. In every state, social class, period and political reality, different kinds of music are created, transformed and expressed. In this way, society and politics are connected. The state and all social structures are expressed through each genre representing its own cultural identity. 6 Rebetiko, as a musical genre, is associated with the lower social classes, which have the East as their point of reference and the corresponding musical traditions. It is expressed at an early stage in the 19th century with the Greek Revolution as a Klepht song and transformed into Rebetiko. Images from online sites, forums, books, discography, electronic press, from the beginning of the genre will be used as the primary material to represent Rebetiko music. In this way, discourse analysis will show the continuity - evolution - the way of promoting the musical style, the differentiation in the musical instruments,